Hold Up with Dulcé Sloan & Josh Johnson from The Daily Show · Comedy Central

Valentine’s Day: Romantic vs. Not Romantic

February 9, 2023·47 min·4 clips

Dulcé Sloan got engaged on Valentine's Day and called it 'corny as shit' before breaking it off.

Dulce Sloan and Josh Johnson open their debate show Hold Up with the question of whether Valentine's Day is romantic or not. Josh takes the pro-romance position, arguing that Valentine's Day is the one holiday specifically designed for couples to celebrate their relationship, distinct from Christmas or birthdays. Dulce counters that centering the holiday on romantic love leaves out single people and ignores the many other forms of love that matter in daily life. Dulce reveals she got engaged on Valentine's Day and found the gesture corny, despite saying yes. She broke off the engagement a month later and the relationship entirely a month after that. She describes her annual tradition of making handmade valentines for friends using craft supplies, drawing on her childhood experience of her mother giving Valentine's gifts to her and her brother. The conversation shifts to the spectacle of public proposals. Josh recounts a friend's story about a man proposing in the middle of a prix fixe Valentine's dinner, effectively deflating every other couple's evening in the restaurant. They discuss a viral meme of a man on one knee in a mall being rejected, debating whether the woman was right to say no publicly or should have spared him the embarrassment. Both hosts agree that more communication is needed around proposals, with Josh arguing that couples should discuss ring preferences, proposal style, and expectations well in advance rather than relying on guesswork. Dulce shares that a man she had known for only one month asked her to marry him, despite her repeatedly saying they were just having fun. A lengthy tangent covers a viral video of a woman who threw industrial quantities of glitter throughout her cheating boyfriend's house as revenge. They debate whether destroying property is justified after infidelity, with Dulce noting that the glitter approach broke nothing but destroyed everything. The discussion turns to the disparity between Mother's Day and Father's Day recognition. Both hosts observe that fathers receive less effort and attention, with Josh noting that dads often get recycled sweaters while mothers get taken out to dinner. They point out the double standard where forgetting to call your mother makes you an ungrateful child, but forgetting to call your father implies he was a bad dad. Dulce argues for expanding Valentine's Day to celebrate all kinds of love, noting that most people interact with non-romantic love more frequently than romantic love. Josh concedes the holiday can be toxic through social comparison but maintains its romantic focus serves a purpose. They close by asking listeners to weigh in on whether Valentine's Day should remain couple-centric or become more inclusive.

As heard by us

A funny, lightly chaotic take on Valentines Day that stays sweet, pressured, and absurd.

The episode treats Valentines Day as corny, romantic, and a little toxic at once. It stays close to an engagement story, the pressure couples feel around the holiday, and a restaurant proposal that turns one couples moment into everyone elses problem.

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Why you'd press play

If Valentine's Day feels like a pressure cooker, this one will speak your language.

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